It has now been reported as breaking news by The Athletic that former Real Madrid boss Alvaro Arbeloa is set to be appointed at Craven Cottage.
They state: ‘Fulham are in the process of finalising a deal to appoint Alvaro Arbeloa as the club’s new head coach on a three-year deal.’
The Athletic going on to say: ‘The club’s talks with Arbeloa have covered a range of topics including the Spaniard’s backroom staff and first-team squad planning. The west London side have been searching for a head coach since Silva left Craven Cottage earlier this month, bringing an end to five years in the role. He has since been confirmed as Jose Mourinho’s replacement at Benfica.’
Back in his playing days, Alvaro Arbeloa played for both Real Madrid and Liverpool, as well as a few games for West Ham at the end of his playing career.
He was manager of the Real Madrid B side until Xabi Alonso left in January and Arbeloa got the job until the end of the 2025/26 season.
The vacancy at Craven Cottage is one of three Premier League jobs that need to be filled.
That could quickly change if/when Alvaro Arbeloa is announced at Fulham, plus Enzo Maresca set to be the next Manchester City manager and Gary O’Neil the same at Ipswich Town.
This is now the current position for permanent Premier League managers – as at 23 June 2026:
Mikel Arteta (Arsenal) 22 December 2019
Eddie Howe (Newcastle United) 8 November 2021
Unai Emery (Villa) 1 November 2022
Daniel Farke (Leeds) 4 July 2023
Regis Le Bris (Sunderland) 1 July 2024
Fabian Hurzeler (Brighton) 2 July 2024
Frank Lampard (Coventry) 28 November 2024
David Moyes (Everton) 11 January 2025
Sergej Jakirovic (Hull) 11 June 2025
Keith Andrews (Brentford) 27 June 2025
Michael Carrick (Man Utd) 13 January 2026
Vitor Pereira (Forest) 15 February 2026
Roberto De Zerbi (Spurs) 31 March 2026
Marco Rose (Bournemouth) 1 June 2026
Andoni Iraola (4 June 2026)
Pierre Sage (15 June 2026)
Xabi Alonso (Chelsea) set to take over on 1 July 2026
No manager (Fulham)
No manager (Man City)
No manager (Ipswich)